


Runaway Groom

by Neverever



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fear, M/M, Running Away, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:33:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22391080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neverever/pseuds/Neverever
Summary: Tony is having second thoughts about getting married and needs to talk to someone.  He reaches out to Steve, even though he hasn't talked to him in five years.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 7
Kudos: 161





	Runaway Groom

Tony shakily holds his phone. He’s outside on a balcony overlooking a moon-lit ocean, the warm August breeze ruffling his hair.

His thumb hovers over the number.

He should talk to Rhodey, his best bro forever. But this isn’t something he can talk to Rhodey about. HIs gut tells him that. Even if Rhodey is only on the other side of the sliding glass door behind him and Steve five years in the past.

Steve had thrown him a lifeline once and Tony now needed to grab it. 

He is in Park Slope -- a mere two hour drive away. Tony knows, because he’s been obsessively stalking Steve’s Instagram for the past two days. 

It’s do or die. He risks it all by calling. No one ever wants to talk on the phone these days. But if Tony can’t reach Steve now, his chance evaporates into the air. Tony returns to the party, goes to bed at a reasonable time, and get up at 10 am to ready for his wedding.

“Tony?” Steve asks and frankly scares the hell out of Tony.

He can see beautiful warm smiling Steve, his shirt tight and stained from his morning run, just like the picture he posted on Instagram a couple of hours ago.

“Hey, I’m in town.” Tony goes for a casual breezy tone, even if his heart is beating wildly from anxiety and terror and fear of rejection. “Free for a drink?”

He can sense that Steve is hesitating. Yeah, yeah, bad idea. It’s already eight-thirty at night and people will be wondering where he is any minute now. The intense need for escape has settled in his bones and won’t let him go.

He just needs to talk to someone who knew who he was five years ago. That time before Tony gave up and settled for being just like his father. He silently begs Steve.

“Yeah but where do you want to meet?”

“Park Slope?”

That hesitation seeps into Steve’s voice. “Aren’t you in the Hamptons -- I saw --”

“Steve.” Tony’s voice cracks with desperation.

“Sure. Okay. Meet me at Three Brothers Pizza -- it’s around the corner from me. I’ll text you the address. I’ll be waiting.”

Tony is flooded with relief as he sneaks down to his car and away from the party. He is soon speeding on small local roads that rapidly evolve into the lighted I-495 highway into Brooklyn.

Damn, Steve had been _everything_ that summer five years ago. He’d been working on contract for Stark Industries when Tony met him. Bigger than life, more beautiful than Tony’s AI programs, Steve had blown up Tony’s world. They’d spent all their time together, playing games, arguing over movies, going to the beach. Tony had not felt more alive than hiking next to Steve and watching the stars in the sky.

The thing was that Steve was going to Europe at the end of the summer. 

That last night when they promised to stay in touch and all that jazz, Tony confessed his fear of turning into Howard. Steve promised him that he would never be like Howard. Their hands brushed and Tony had wanted to kiss Steve so much in that moment -- and didn’t.

Tony was not gay. It was not okay for Tony to be gay. Fine for artist Steve to be gay and date gay guys and be happy with being gay. But not for Tony.

“If you ever need to talk, call me,” Steve said before he headed off to the airport.

After that summer, Tony lost himself and lost contact with Steve. Instead of being the brave strong person Steve believed in, Tony worked only harder to be like Howard. He buried himself more into work at Stark Industries and making it rain in R&D with government contracts. Howard was happy and was even happier when Tony got engaged to Maya, who ran an up and coming biotech firm.

A wedding and marriage so perfect that the Daily Bugle would be covering the event and fashion and gossip blogs had breathlessly covered all the arrangements from the dress to the guest list.

Tony should be more worried about how the wedding was going to turn out than finding parking in Park Slope on a busy summer night. He feels a pang of guilt not telling Rhodey where he went but he’s just having a drink or two with an old friend and then driving back to East Hampton. No one ever has to know what he did. He pays for a couple of hours of parking and looks for the restaurant.

Steve in person is even better than his pictures or Tony’s memories. He’s even more gorgeous in his blue shirt and tight jeans. Tony is gobsmacked and at a loss for words when Steve says hello in that low gravely voice.

Turns out that Three Brothers Pizza is owned by one of Steve’s friends, Bucky. “We can stay here as long as we like,” Steve says. “I have a set of keys.”

“And know the owner.” 

They order drinks and pizza. Steve shines that smile at him that is now making Tony dizzy. “What have you been up to?” he asks. It’s clear to Tony that Steve knows he’s getting married, that’s why he’s in New York, not California. 

But they don’t talk about that. They talk about the past five years, what they’ve done, where they’ve gone, what they’re doing now. Tony is shocked to find that he’s happy that Steve doesn’t have a special guy, not even dating. It’s wrong that his heart thumped a little and the blood rushed to his face when Steve said he was still single. Steve deserved the best person in the world, not to be alone. 

It’s long past midnight, the staff have cleaned up the restaurant, Bucky’s told Steve to remember to lock up when they leave. And Tony can’t stop talking to Steve. It’s 3 am and he should be in East Hampton and all he wants to do is keep talking with Steve.

He turns off his phone when he sees the text from Rhodey. Steve notices and arches an eyebrow. Tony blurts out, “I can’t go back.”

“Let’s go to my place -- you can get some sleep and then decide,” Steve replies.

“You’re being irredeemably practical,” Tony declares.

Steve grins and turns off the lights in the restaurant. They walk the block to Steve’s apartment. His roommate Sam is away for the weekend so they have the place to themselves.

Tony doesn’t want to go to sleep because the night would be over. Steve hands him a towel and a spare toothbrush and points him to his bedroom. “I’ll take the couch,” Steve says.

“I can sleep on the couch,” Tony insists. He puts down the towel and toothbrush in the tiny bathroom.

“You need the sleep.”

They’re in the hallway and Tony looks up at Steve. And Steve hugs him, engulfing him in his large arms and just holds Tony. Tony loses it and cries against Steve’s shoulder. Steve pats him on the back. “It’s going to be fine, Tony,” he whispers, trying to reassure him.

Tony doesn’t want to ever let go. Every nerve in his body is tingling and he’s never felt more alive. And all he has to do is lift his chin, close his eyes and he can kiss Steve. He can feel it -- Steve’s lips on his -- and he knows in his gut that Steve would be a good kisser. He wants it to happen badly. He needs it.

And Steve breaks off the hug. “It’s late, Tony.”

Tony can only nod. Rejected and dejected, he slumps over to Steve’s dark bedroom, the black out curtains drawn closed. He turns to say good night to Steve and sees the conflicted look on his face. Steve cares, Steve cares a lot. Maybe even loves Tony.

Tony’s world shatters around him.

“I’m going to bed, see you in the morning.”

Steve says, “See you in a few hours. It’s already morning.”

He pulls the covers up and settles into the bed. He draws a shaky breath as he reconsiders everything he ever knew. Steve has given him all the answers he needs. One step further and Tony really does turn into Howard. He’s halfway there now with denying who he fundamentally is and lying to himself. Next step is cheating, followed up with even more drinking and family neglect and alienation. He’s only in his 20s and he can see how horribly wrong his life can go if he stays on this path.

He tosses and turns and finally falls into a restless sleep.

Tony startles awake when Steve knocks on the door. He has breakfast burritos and hot coffee. Tony props himself up in the bed when Steve sits down. “Wow, thanks.”

“Thought you could use some food. Going to be a long day.”

Tony’s eyes go wide and he scrambles for his phone. It’s 10:30 am, he’s very very late, and people are blowing up his phone. “Oh.”

“Yeah, your car’s been towed.”

Tony sniffs, then giggles, then laughs so hard that his sides hurt and the bag of burritos nearly falls off the bed. “It’s going to take a few hours to spring it from car jail.” He laughs again. 

Steve hands him his coffee and gets up to open the curtains. He’s wearing a t-shirt and pajama bottoms and he looks just as good as he did the night before. Tony sips his coffee and basks in the warm late morning sunlight. 

He caught that lifeline.

He’s been reborn and everything is new to him. It feels great, tremendous, real and the best he’s felt in years. All the curled up tension and pain is evaporating into the air and Tony is light and bouncy and brand-new and filled with feelings he has yet to name. He’s got time and desire. He wants to be whole. 

Steve is back sitting on the bed again with his own coffee and breakfast burrito. Tony has no words for how he feels being so close to Steve but he’ll figure it out. “Got plans today? I could use the help.”

“Sure. I’ve got nothing planned.” Steve puts his cup on the floor and puts on his serious face. “But, Tony, don’t you have to be somewhere?” 

“Nope,” he says, popping the ‘p.’ 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’d bet my life on it.” He could get a ride to East Hampton if he wanted to. He isn’t moving from Steve’s bed that had that enticing Steve-scent if he could help it. “No plans at all.”

Steve’s phone rings. “Yes. This is Steve Rogers. Um.” He glances over at Tony so Tony knows that he’s the subject of the call. He sits up straighter waiting for the shoe to drop. “Tony Stark? He’s here.” He put the phone down. “Tony, it’s your friend Rhodey. You don’t have to talk to him if you don’t want.”

“Then I don’t.”

Steve nudged him. “He’s worried and you should tell someone that you’re not getting married.”

Chill sweeps through Tony as his old life reaches out to grab him. “Steve --”

“It’s going to okay. Rhodey is your best friend -- wouldn’t he want the best for you?” Steve reassured him.

Tony takes the phone. Rhodey of course unloads his worry and his fear. Pepper already has a plan to get him back for the wedding. Tony cuts him off. “I’m not getting married. It’s off.”

The relief in Rhodey’s voice overwhelms Tony, making him question what Rhodey really thought about him getting married in the first place. “Okay. You have to tell Maya.”

Tony makes his phone calls, taking the blows of anger and hate from his parents and Maya. The PR person and the wedding planner would handle the rest. In the meantime, Steve gets changed and find Tony clothes.

He smiles at Steve. He can’t tell yet where his journey will take him. All he knows is that he’s not getting married today, might not go back to Stark Industries, and isn’t likely straight either. He fervently hopes that Steve is part of the journey and maybe even the end.

But he does know he has to get the car out of car jail.

“Sure about this, Steve? Hunting down the car? Hanging out?” Tony scans Steve’s face to see if Steve is thinking of bailing because his question is more than retrieving a car from a tow yard.

“I don’t give up,” Steve replies, answering Tony’s unspoken questions. “You’ll need this.” He tossed a motorcycle helmet to Tony. “We’ll sort out the rest later.”

Tony squeezes Steve’s hand and they head out.


End file.
